Michelle Spadaro joins McLane Middleton’s Trust Services Group
The law firm of McLane Middleton has hired Michelle E. Spadaro, trust officer, in the firm’s Trust Services Department.
Michelle has 15 years of experience as an estate planning and trust administration paralegal. Her extensive background equips her to effectively cultivate and sustain enduring client relationships. Michelle has garnered experience across law firms of diverse scales and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Legal Studies from Newbury College.
Michelle can be reached in the firm’s Manchester office at (603) 628-1152 or michelle.spadaro@mclane.com.
Sullivan County delegation rejects request to appoint county attorney
The Sullivan County delegation agreed on Tuesday, June 25, not to take action on a recommendation from outgoing Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway to appoint Deputy County Attorney Christine Hilliard to the position after Hathaway leaves on July 1.
Hathaway cited state law that gives a majority of the representatives the authority to appoint someone to the position, which is elected every two years. He told the delegation that the title of county attorney “carries weight” when dealing with the courts, public defenders office, defense attorneys and others, and it is important to have someone in the office with full authority.
Hilliard was the only candidate to file with the Secretary of State’s office for county attorney by the June 14 deadline. However, there is still a possibility she could face a challenge in the state’s primary on Sept. 10.
The delegates, none of whom argued against Hilliard’s qualifications, were reluctant to appear as though they were endorsing her when there could be other candidates.
Delegation Chairman Steve Smith, R-Charlestown, said appointing Hilliard would appear too much like a “coronation” and if there is a contest for the position it will look like the delegates “had their thumb on the scale.”
The delegation agreed that after the primary, if there were no other candidates, the group could meet and vote on whether to appoint Hilliard. Whomever is elected in November will become county attorney on Jan. 1. — Valley News
Cameron Shilling named a Go To Cybersecurity/Data Privacy Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
McLane Middleton attorney Cameron G. Shilling was named to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s 2024 list of Top 20 Go To Cybersecurity/Data Privacy lawyers.
Massachusetts Go To Lawyers is a feature MA Lawyers Weekly debuted in 2020 to showcase leaders in the Massachusetts legal community by practice area. The lawyers featured this year were all nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from Lawyers Weekly.
Cameron has amassed a wealth of expertise in privacy and cybersecurity. He established the firm’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Group 15 years ago, and continues to chair the group today. During that time, he has counselled hundreds of clients through privacy and security audits and mitigation, policy implementation, M&A transactions, vendor management, and workforce testing and training. He also leverages his litigation expertise to adeptly manage client crises like security incidents and breaches, regulatory audits and penalties, and class action privacy and security breach lawsuits. As a result of his depth of experiences, Shilling has been recognized regionally and nationally has a thought-leader in privacy and cybersecurity.
Cameron can be reached in the firm’s Manchester office at cameron.shilling@mclane.com.
NH files suit against TikTok, alleging deceptive practices and manipulation of kids
New Hampshire has filed a lawsuit against TikTok alleging that the social media site used addictive features “to exploit young users’ naivete and ongoing brain development” and “knowingly deceived New Hampshire families with false assurances of safety.”
The suit is similar to one that the state filed in October against Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook.
It is also similar to suits filed against TikTok by several other states, part of a probe by many state attorneys general that was announced in early 2022 and has been progressing since then. Unlike a TikTok investigation by the Federal Trade Commission that focuses on federal children’s privacy laws, the states’ probe is mostly focused on whether TikTok violated state consumer protection laws that prohibit business conduct deemed by a court to be deceptive.
Attorney General John M. Formella announced the lawsuit Tuesday. It was filed in Merrimack County Superior Court.
“This action underscores our commitment to holding social media platforms accountable for their harmful actions to youth. … This lawsuit is just the latest step in our ongoing efforts to ensure that platforms like TikTok operate responsibly and transparently in our state,” Formella said in a prepared statement.
The suit alleges that TikTok creates “a manipulative and addictive product that ensnares young users into endlessly scrolling its platform which it knows is harmful to children’s mental health and well-being,” misled consumers “about the safety of the platform with false assurances about the effectiveness of enforcement of community guidelines, and content moderation,” and collected personal data from children under the age of 13 without disclosures or parental consent.
The suit also says Tiktok downplayed the control exercised by its China-based parent ByteDance Ltd. “to avoid regulatory scrutiny and customer concerns about the safety of their data.”
The complaint asks the court to enter an injunction requiring substantive changes in how the company operates, and seeks unspecified penalties and other monetary relief.
The Attorney General’s investigation of other social media platforms for related practices continues. — David Brooks/Concord Monitor
